March 27, 1945: Gahlen Germany

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Gahlen Germany is half way between the Rhine River and Dorsten Germany. Gahlen was a scene of fierce fighting as Allied forces, particularly the XVICorps advanced across the Rhine River to the west and Lippe river to the north, with troops moving through Gahlen under heavy artillery and air attack, from German Messerschmitt Bf 109s. The German troops put up intense resistance resulting in heavy destruction typical of the final weeks of the war in the region.

On March 28, 1945 the Americans encountered resistance from the remnants of German 116th Panzer-Division and 15th Panzer Grenadier-Division. The XVICorps included the 290th Infantry, of which the 75th Infantry Division was a part along with the 30th Infantry Division and the 8th Armored Division (The Thundering Herd).

On March 28, 1945 the XVICorps attacked East along the Lippe River and Lippe Canal. On the push to Dorsten, the Americans encountered resistance from the remnants of German 116th Panzer-Division and 15th Panzer Grenadier-Division. 30 Mar 1945,

After crossing the Rhine River, the first goal of the XVICorps was to push west towards Berlin Germany. General William H. Simpson was leading the American 9th Army as they pushed east. Prior to this push he had worked under the British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The British forces lacked the fire power to make the push on their own, so the American 9th Army assisted.

The Ruhr Pocket was encircled on April 1, 1945 trapping more than 300,000 German soldiers. Once trapped, they became more desperate as the pocket was tightened from the Americans attacking from the north. Old men and children were given weapons and told to fight for their fatherland.

Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower abandoned the idea of pushing to Berlin Germany on April 2, 1945. He decided to leave that prize to the Soviets since the Potsdam agreement had already established how the conquered German territories would be divided.

After Berlin was abandoned by the Americans, the goal became to sweep south right through the center of the Ruhr and crush the industrial area. This would involve prolonged and intense house to house combat in the industrial cities. Eisenhower thought that pushing to Berlin would have to high a price on American casualties, but the Ruhr Pocket was also a highly defended meat grinder.

The overall; movement of the Corps was from West to East along the Lippe Canal which runs West to East. After reaching Dorsten the XVI Corps then moved south, to seize and hold crossings over Rhein-Herne Canal at the junction with the Lippe River, and then continue south to the Ruhr River.

The Gahlen Memorial that I sketched was inaugurated on September 10, 1922. Six marble plaques are inset into the walls of the memorial containing the names of German soldiers who died in World War II. The massive obelisk in the center contains the names of soldiers who died in World War I. These names became severely weathered making them hard to read. In 2004 the weathered plaques were replaced with bronze plaques. The entire monument underwent a full restoration in 2022.

March 3, 1945: Westerbroek Germany

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The 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry Division Combat Diary written and edited by Technician 4th Grade Cecil J. Bond is a primary source of information for the World War II cities I made every effort to sketch. He noted that on March 3, 1945 the regiment moved to an assembly area near Venlo Netherlands where the battalions were almost immediately alerted to a further move to the forward division assembly area near Westerbrock Germany. This was the first time the 75th would be advancing into Germany. They were advancing to relive elements of the 291st Infantry.

As I sat at dinner at Gasthause Luthermuhle, I was searching for Westerbrock Germany on Google Maps on my phone. For the life of me, I could not find the town. There was a Westerbrock Netherlands far to the north which was the site of a major Nazi transit camp, it served as a gathering point for over 100,000 Jews, Sinti, and Roma before their deportation to concentration and extermination camps in German-occupied Poland and Germany. That town was way too far north, so that could not be the assembly area I was looking for. I assumed it had to be pretty close to where I was, but there was no Westerbrock Germany.
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Born Netherlands Memorial

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On March 2, 1945 the 290th Infantry Division was moved by a motor convoy from Helden Netherlands to Buchten, Born and Holtum Netherlands. Like the rest of the Netherlands, Born was under German occupation from 1940 to 1945. The period of occupation was a difficult time for the Dutch people, with food shortages, persecution, and forced labor. The Jewish Population in particular suffered during the occupation. 3/4 of the Dutch a Jews did not survive the war.

The official day that all of Netherlands was liberated was May 5, 1945 which would be 2 months after the 290th Infantry was in Born. On September 12, 1944, the first American troops of the 30th Infantry division first set foot on Dutch soil. The next day the Limburg Capitol of Maastricht was reached. The US 9th Army stayed in Maastricht from October 22, 1944 to March 10, 1945. Other US troops were stationed in South Limburg thus the region became the most “Americanized” part of the country.

During the winter of 1944-1945 only the southern cities of the Netherlands were liberated. A German blockade after a strike of the National Railway Company cut off food and fuel shipments to the Netherlands. 4.5 million people began to starve. Many ate tulip bulbs in an effort to stay alive. Many died. It is estimated that 18,000 Dutch people died of malnutrition. The Americans initiated Operation Chowhound to relieve the famine.

It is estimated that between September 1944 and May 1945, about 13,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the fighting in the Netherlands. The Americans lost about 1,135 men. Much of the fighting happened in the air. Of the 3,850 allied aircraft that were shot down over the Netherlands, about 1/5 were American.

The memorial I sketched in Born Netherlands was to honor two Dutch soldiers who gave their lives at this spot on May 10, 1940 in the struggle for freedom and peace for their people and their fatherland. May 10, 1940 was the first day of the German invasion of the Netherlands. The Netherlands surrendered 4 days later when Germany flattened Rotterdam with a bombing campaign and threatened to do the same to other Netherlands cities if they continued to fight.

The memorial plaque says “Piet Walraeven from Maastricht and Harie Custers from Einighausen gave their  lives here on May 10, 1940 in the fight for freedom and peace for their people and country.”